Requiem for old technology

Gale force winds are battering both my wee home and the brand new daffodils that had the temerity to open yesterday. It's been relatively calm through winter so it's a bit of a shock to the system to be battening down the hatches and tying ropes over anything that could blow away. The bush is getting a bit of a pasting on the windward side but deeper in there's an uneasy calm and not much birdsong. I've taken advantage of the weather and spent most of the day sorting out my new comms equipment that has finally arrived.

There is no landline cable along the road so although the house has phone jacks and a cable out to the road, that's where it ends. I rely on mobile broadband but need a Yagi aerial on the roof to get a signal inside and used to rush outside if I got a phone call. My phone bill is about the same as my electricity bill ($130/mth) and although it worked fine for the technology when I first moved here, Spark's plans don't cater for non-smartphones and very slow connections.

My new setup consists of a Spark R83 phone which has a direct aerial connection for the Yagi and also acts as a wifi hotspot. I've paired it with a Uniden XDECT handset that uses Bluetooth so I have a cordless handset that theoretically works up to 100m from its base unit. So far it's working fine apart from a couple of dropped internet connections and one phone call - but maybe it's the wind that's causing the signal to swirl a bit too much!

My new Spark R83

Uniden XDECT handset

I'll be saving $40/mth for the next two years, increasing to $60/mth after the phone is paid off. I have 1Gb less data per month but have unlimited phone calls to landlines and mobiles in New Zealand and Australia to compensate. It's sad to say goodbye to my trusty Nokia 3710 flip-phone but it's been retained as my bedside alarm clock; but I do have a spare Huawei wifi hotspot if anyone's interested!

Spark certainly deserve their 1st placing for customer dissatisfaction but they've redeemed themselves somewhat with my 'chat sessions' yesterday and again today. Cellutronics have been very helpful and are the go-to people to consult if you are in a poor coverage area. 2Degrees offered the most cost-effective plans but my Yagi aerial is an AY12-12 (Spark only) and I need an AY12-13 for Vodafone/2Degrees - or an AY-15 will do all of them.

The only reservation I have is plugging the direct aerial connection to my phone when I get home and disconnecting it when I leave. Damage to this connector is not covered under warranty so I'll have to be extra-careful to line the pin up squarely. If I realised how complicated life would be without a landline and with patchy mobile coverage I might have thought twice about moving here!!